The last days of school. Three years ago, those words, and the thought of what they meant, filled me with apprehension and dread. We had just added two new children to our home, children I was just getting to know, children who were--though sweet--loud and rambunctious and unpredictable. I had sort of gotten the hang of mothering three during afternoons, evenings, and weekends only, and I cherished the calmness of the day with just my little Gracie at home. Come summer break, my life would become nonstop noise and chaos, I just knew it. What would I do with three kids every day, all day long? I was scared to take them all out in public, but if I stayed home all the time they would destroy the house and drive me crazy. Thank goodness for VBS, mission trips, vacations, visits to family, anything to break up that three-month abyss called summer ahead of me.
 |
| Spring 2010 (before our first summer with Tabitha and Ben), Tulsa |
 |
| Summer 2010, on vacation in Kansas City |
That first summer wasn't so bad. It was certainly an adjustment. But we survived and had some good times, and I've dreaded each summer since then less and less. This year the anxiety was mitigated a bit by the fact that summer break around here begins about a month later than it does in Tulsa; our kids' last day of school was June 19. And so on June 20, the break began, and I wouldn't describe my disposition as afraid or disheartened in the least. Now I've got four kids, but in the last three years, things have calmed down. The kids are older and more disciplined; I know much better what to expect from them, and they know what to expect from me. So I don't mind getting out with them, even in this new and still in some ways foreign city. And I don't mind being stuck at home with them either, as long as it's not every day. Summer is much more palatable to me now, I think I can even say enjoyable.
The last day of school for the kids was a celebration. Gracie "graduated" from kindergarten (I've never understood why completing kindergarten is worthy of a graduation ceremony, except that it's fun for the kids, I guess), and the older two had awards ceremonies for their classes. Gracie received the Cornerstone award for excellence in kindergarten; Tabitha made the honor roll (and her teacher predicted she'd be president someday); Benjamin, well, he completed first grade successfully, and that's worth celebrating for him!
 |
| My future first-grader! |
 |
| We'll miss you, Miss Haggerty! |
 |
| Tabitha and Mrs. McCray |
 |
| Ben and Mrs. Wright |
Since then life has been a bit of a blur. Just in a week and a half we've made multiple trips to the library for a puppet show and story times, we've been on play dates with friends to two splash pads (or spray parks, as they're called around here), and our evenings have been consumed with track practice and ballet classes. We also celebrated Benjamin's birthday last week and had his party in our back yard on Saturday. Busy, busy, but fun.
 |
| Blue Sky Puppet Theater at Francis Gregory Library |
 |
| Gracie's first class with The Washington Ballet |
 |
| Our big boy at his birthday party |
 |
| Tabitha, with her lovely new do |
 |
| Our little cupcake |
 |
| And our third bathing beauty unwrapping her treasure |
 |
| Water fun |
 |
| The water in this pool was not pretty after they got through with it. |
 |
| Presents from friends |
 |
| Our sweet friends Stephanie (with Baby Leah) and Nicole |
Summer, bring it on. I'm ready this year.
On a more serious note, I lost my last living grandparent on Sunday, June 16. Mema Bea turned 100 in March, and what a life she had. She grew up during the depression, and she lost her husband, my Grandpa Ernest, whom I never knew, when he was only 50 years old. Still, she got her bachelor's degree in education from the University of Oklahoma and later got her master's in counseling. She was a teacher and counselor for many years and in that role influenced many lives. My love of words and grammar and editing comes from her. I'm so sad that I wasn't able to go back to Oklahoma for the funeral; that's sometimes an unfortunate consequence of moving so far away from home. But I celebrate her life with my family back in OK, and I'm thankful for the memories I have with her and the privilege I had to know her.
 |
| Mema Bea with Baby Gracie, April 2007 |
http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Beatrice-Schantz&lc=4850&pid=165377806&mid=5568454
Comments
Post a Comment